Separable fastener or buckle



Aug. 2, 1938. L. EISENMAN 2,125,775

SEPARABLE FASTENER OR BUCKLE I Filed Sept. 16. 1936 awe/whom Patented Aug. 2, 1938 UNITED 'sITArEs SEPARABLE FASTENEB. on. nncnnnflf Louis Eisenman, Brooklyn, N. :Y. 1

Application September- 16, 1am, Serial No. 101,166

2 Claims. (Cl. 24-406) This invention relates to improvements inseparable fasteners and more especially to what are generally known as buckles. The invention will be hereinafter described with relation to its appli 5 cation to the well known .belt buckle, although 5 A further object is to provide a separable fastener or buckle of durable construction, which will permit ready separation of the two members to be connected, as well as an adjustable connection thereof.

2 A further object is to provide a buckle of the above general character, whichmay be easily and quickly set to the desired degree of tightness, and

in which the relatively movable parts will not be scarred or mutilated by the holding or attaching 25 means as so frequently occurs in belt buckles where the engagement takes place directly upon one of the parts of the belt, for example.

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawing and in part hereinafter indi- 30 cated in connection therewith by the following analysis of this invention. This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of parts, the unique relation of the members, and in the relative proportioning and disposition thereof, all as more completely outlined therein.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully comprehend the underlying features of the invention, that they may embody the same by the num- 40 erous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by the invention, a drawing depicting a preferred form has been annexed as part or this disclosure, and in such drawihg like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the views, in Which- Fig. 1 is an elevational view, showing the complete buckle as applied to a belt, with the free end disconnected;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view; 50 Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevational view taken substantially at right angles to'Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view on line of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view. A 55 Referring now to the drawing in detail, the

main body portion of the buckle 5 is preferably of rectangular, hollow, open-ended construction, provided with a top wall, a bottom wallli, a rear .wall I, and a front wall-8ffThis"bddy'iportion is v 1 provided at one end with an attaching means such 5 as a pivoted ring l0 secured or trunnioned at'its ends I l in socketsformed in the body portion and adjacent one of the walls thereof. This ring forms the point of connection with one end of I the strap or belt fl [which passes through .the 10 ring prior to being bent back upon itself and se-' cured in any well knownmanne'r, as byorneans of separable fastener or rivet I3. The opposite or free end of the belt, indicatedat ll, is adapted to pass through the housing 5 andrto be adjusta- I now' about to be described.

Upon what may be termed the free end of the belt it there is mounted a ratchet element which, inthe present case, is composed of a sheet or strip l5, of fabric or other flexible material, bent back upon itself over a, wire I! and secured along its lower surface to the inner side of the belt endl4, preferablyby means of adhesive, thereby to prevent mutilation of the belt end as would occur if stitching or rivets were used.

Upon this wire I! are mounted a plurality of teeth l8, of generally rectangular shape, beveled at their tops and bifurcated at their lower ends thereby to embrace the wire i1 and to be clamped thereabout. In other words, this entire" ratchet element may be nothing more than one'unit of the well known slide fastener in size, shape and construction, except for the use of the reinforcing wire which adds to the strength and durability ofthe device. This wire is materially helpful in connecting the two parts in holding position.

Cooperating with this slide fastener unit is a pawl 2|! which consistspreferably of a metallic 40 tooth pointed or wedge-shaped at one end to engage between the ratchet teeth iii of the slide fastener element when urged intoholding positlon by means of a spring 2i mountedwithin a housing formed by the walls 22. One of these walls is slotted as indicated at 23, through which bly secured in desired position by holding means passes a wire 'or other operating means 24 extending downwardly for ease in operation through the bottom wall 6 of the housing and terminates ina button '25. Thus by pressing upwardly on the button 25 the tooth 20 will be raised against the action of the spring 2| and will permit the ratchet'or slide fastener unit to be moved relatively to the right or-left, as desired, but by beveling the teeth It and pawl 20 asshown the 58 belt may be tightened without pressing the button 25.

Within the housing or body member 5 there is mounted a U-shaped channel or guide 26 of a size to accommodate the teeth I. of the ratchet, which are spaced apart at that point from the belt I, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. This guide is' adapted to prevent lateral movement of the ratchet out of engagement with the tooth or pawl 20 and also to receive the end of the wire I! when inserting the free end ll of the belt into the buckle. This channel member or guide 26 may be enlarged or flared at the receiving end, if desired, to aid in the reception of the wire when first connecting the strap ends.

It is believed that the operation of a device of this character is clear to those familiar with the 1 Msubject. It may be stated that as herein illustrated, when his desired to connect two strap ends, for example, one of'them (ll) equipped with a slide fastener unit is inserted through the open end of the body member 5, the wire I! passing into the channel or guide 26. During this operation the actuatingbutton 25 may be pressed upwardly, that is, assuming it to be...on/the bottom of the casing as shown, thereby to carry the pawl 20 out of the channel or guide member whereby the ratchet mechanism may be moved freely therethrough. The release or separation of the ends of the belt is accomplished simply by wressing uporfthe bfitton 25 whereupon the free end of the belt may be slipped out of the buckle.

From the above it will be seen that the present invention contemplates a simple and practical belt buckle having relatively few parts, which may be inexpensively manufactured and assembled. The buckle is of durable construction and permitsan easy and quick release of the parts and very flne adjustment whereby any degree of tension may be exerted.

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that from the standpoint of the prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and. therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim: 1. A device of the character described comprising a hollow body member having a through channel, means on the body member for attaching the same to one of two strap members adapted to be connected, the other of said strap members being adapted to pass through the open body member, a ratchet mounted upon the free end of one of the strap members comprising a plurality of vertically disposed teeth, a wire upon which the teeth are rrfiunted and aflexible support for the wire secured to the free end of the strap member, and cooperating means in the body member adapted to engage with the ratchet teeth.

2. In a strap end connector, a wire supporting element, a flexible strip straddling said wire and secured to said strap end, and a plurality of teeth mounted along said wire and flexible strip, the plane of said teeth extending in a direction parallel to that of said strap end.

LOUIS EISENMAN. 

